Did I Wake You?
by fictionalportal
Summary: Based on a prompt where Asami receives a late night phone call from a stranger named Korra, who is in the hospital. (Send me prompts at fictional-portal on tumblr.)
1. Chapter 1

_Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrng!_

"..."

 _Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrng!_

"Ughhhh..."

 _Brrrrrrrrrr-_

Asami rolled over and tore the landline off of its base. "Hello?"

"Babe?"

The stranger's inappropriate familiarity woke Asami up. "Excuse me, who is this?"

"Dammit," the voice on the other end said. "Let me guess, wrong number again?"

"You shouldn't be able to call this number at all," Asami said, growing more suspicious by the second.

"Ahh, I'm sorry. I've been trying to remember, but-I woke you up, didn't I?"

Asami nodded. The person on the other end must have sensed it.

"I am so sorry."

The sheer heaviness in the woman's voice made Asami regret being so curt. She sounded like she was in her early twenties like Asami, but her voice was clearly fatigued.

"I'll hang up," the woman said. "Sorry to bother you."

"Wait," Asami said. She paused but didn't hear the dial tone. She decided to continue the conversation. "Are you...alright?"

"I'm okay."

"Are you sick?"

The woman laughed. "Just tired. I slept for three weeks and woke up tired."

"Three weeks?" Asami's eyes widened. She sat up on the edge of her bed.

"I guess I hit my head pretty hard," the woman said, laughing again. How could she be so cavalier about a head injury?

"What happened?" Asami asked. After a moment, she added, "Not that you have to tell me."

"Dirt biking." Asami waited expectantly.

"Hello?" The voice said.

"Oh, that's all?"

"What do you mean, 'that's all'?"

"Nothing," Asami said quickly. "I guess I was hoping for a story."

"Once upon a time, I was riding my bike, and I fractured my skull. Then I woke up and called half a dozen strangers trying to remember my girlfriend's number."

The silence following the woman's explanation was charged with sadness, desperation, and tension.

Asami said nothing for a while.

"Hello?" The woman asked.

Asami detected a hint of fear in the word and thought carefully about what she might say. Once the electric emotion in the silence had dissipated, Asami spoke again. "Asami Sato. It's nice to meet you."

"Korra," the woman answered slowly.

"Korra," Asami repeated, "what's your girlfriend's name?"

"Oh."

"What?"

Korra's voice was somber. "I don't have a girlfriend. We broke up a month ago. I forgot."

"Korra, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. Now I know why she hasn't visited me at the hospital." Korra laughed sadly.

"Are you still there?"

"I'm here."

"Not on the phone. At the hospital? It sounds like you could use some company."


	2. Chapter 2

_I've been asleep for three weeks._ The thought turned itself over again and again in Korra's mind.

"Sit up," the nurse said, holding a pillow to prop Korra up.

Korra obeyed. In the twelve hours since she woke up, the same nurse had visited her four times. Now, it was six in the morning and the nurse was moving at a zombie's pace.

"Blood tests." The nurse's voice was monotone.

Korra held out her arm. The nurse tied a tight band just above her elbow and started preparing the needle.

"How's your head? Any pain? We can put you on a morphine drip or something to help you sleep."

"No pain," Korra lied. As much as she wanted the painkillers in order to drown out the memories of her breakup, she thought that she should be fully aware of what was going on in her body. If there was pain, she wanted to feel it. She needed to. _How else will I know something is wrong?_

Korra felt the cool alcohol swab her skin. She braced herself for the imminent prick of the needle piercing her vein, closing her eyes and trying to think of Lani's smiling face.

She felt a pinch in her arm as terror washed over her. The most comforting image she knew had hardened. The once loving grey eyes had been re-carved out of unfeeling stone, the sweet smiling lips crystallized in a perpetual frown.

Korra opened her eyes and the nurse was gone.

Asami had decided to visit Korra. In fact, she had decided to make her a care package. The issue, Asami realized while browsing the supermarket aisles, was that she didn't know what Korra liked. The peanut butter cookies were delicious, but what if Korra had allergies? She had no idea what she was doing.

"Can I help you find something?" A young man in a green apron said. He blew a single curl of his wild dark hair off his forehead.

"Yes...maybe," Asami replied. "I'm trying to make a care package for my-for someone."

"Aww," he said, his green eyes twinkling. He started walking and Asami followed him. "I've actually been thinking of making one, too. A friend of mine is in the hospital."

Asami picked a box of fancy-looking crackers off the shelf.

"I recommend the Goldfish." He modeled a bag of the smiling snacks.

Asami laughed. "Thanks for helping me, um..."

"Bolin."

"It's nice to meet you. And sorry to hear about your friend."

"She'll be fine. She took her dirt bike out after dark and hit something on the trail. Flipped her bike and knocked her out for like a month. I heard she woke up yesterday."

"Wait, you know Korra?" Asami dropped the bag of Goldfish in her basket.

"You know Korra? Wow!" Bolin said, throwing his arm around Asami's shoulder. "Small world."

"I don't really know her," Asami admitted. "She accidentally called me. She sounded so sad, so I thought I'd go see her."

"Nah, you don't have to worry about Korra. She'll be fine. That accident would have killed anyone less tough than her." Bolin's words were confident, but his voice cracked as he finished his sentence. He brightened before speaking again. "You can totally come visit her, though!"


	3. Chapter 3

Asami had hung around a coffee shop until Bolin's shift at the supermarket ended. They had driven to the hospital in Bolin's faded blue car.

Bolin parked the car and pulled the care package out of the back seat. "Korra's gonna love this."

"I hope so," Asami said, walking towards the hospital. "Has anyone visited her since she woke up?"

"My brother Mako went in this morning before work, but she wasn't really saying much."

"She was okay, though?" Asami held the front door open for Bolin and his cartoonish gift bag. It had a drawing of a whale on it with the caption 'get whale soon' in bright blue letters.

"She's fine. Like I said, Korra's tough." He shuffled through the doorway. "When she and Mako broke up, I don't think she even cried. He was a mess, though. I can go fill out the paperwork if you hold this." He presented her with the gift bag.

Asami sat in the middle of the waiting room. She hoped Korra would like the snacks they had picked out. Bolin insisted that these were her absolute favorites, so Asami had taken his word for it. He seemed fairly normal aside from his extreme enthusiasm for pizza-flavored Goldfish ("I hear they cook them in a real brick oven!").

She realized that she didn't even know what Korra looked like. Since the accidental phone call at three in the morning, Asami had been preoccupied with a complete stranger. Something about Korra's desperation, the intense sadness in her voice, had pulled Asami in. She couldn't just drop the whole thing without knowing Korra was okay.

Asami might have been a stranger to Korra, but she was familiar with the terrifying suddenness of motor vehicle accidents. Asami's father had presumably been killed when his driver's car had disappeared right after picking him up from the airport. Exactly six months after the obscure incident, Asami had officially become the CEO of her father's company, Future Industries. She had been groomed her entire life so that she would one day be ready to take over, but she hadn't expected it to happen on the day that she turned twenty-two.

"Asami, what's your last name?" Bolin called over his shoulder.

"Sato," Asami said.

"Alright, we're all set," he said, plucking the gift bag off of Asami's lap.

They followed a nurse out of the reception area. She pulled open a door on the right side of the hallway and gestured for them to enter.

Bolin went inside first, barreling through the door as soon as the nurse stepped aside. "Korra!" He shouted gleefully.

"Ow, mind not shouting?" Said the same voice Asami had heard for the first time less than a day earlier.

Asami thought that Korra sounded a little less tired than she had in the middle of the night, but she might have been imagining-hoping-that Korra had miraculously gotten better after a short night's sleep.

"Going in?" The nurse said, snapping Asami out of her thoughts.

Asami smiled and nodded at the nurse, then entered Korra's room.

"Have you talked to Lani?" Korra asked Bolin as she stuffed another handful of Goldfish into her mouth. She sat up in the hospital bed, Bolin and Asami in chairs to her right.

"Slow down there, champ," Bolin said.

"What? I haven't eaten in three weeks! And yesterday's hospital food doesn't count."

Bolin's spoke slowly and seriously. "I meant about Lani."

"I can't believe I forgot," Korra said to herself, shoving food in her face more slowly. "When she didn't visit me I thought maybe something was wrong, but I didn't really remember until I called Asami."

Korra looked over at the unfamiliar woman. _Is she staring at me?_ Why this stranger had come to visit her she wasn't entirely sure, but she was certainly thankful for the company-and the food. Bolin and Asami had put Goldfish, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Aero bars, and in-the-shell Ballpark peanuts in the most thoughtfully cheesy gift bag Korra had ever seen. _Probably Bolin's idea_ , she thought to herself as she unwrapped one of the candy bars.

Asami was definitely staring, but it didn't bother Korra. She continued to eat, feeling happier than she had in a long time.

After about fifteen minutes, the nurse came in to alert Bolin and Asami that visiting hours had ended. She had already let them stay late.

The nurse made her rounds around nine o'clock, and again Korra refused the painkillers. She had been awake for most of the previous night worrying about getting in contact with Lani. After she had talked to Asami, she had finally fallen asleep around four a.m.

But that night the physical pain kept Korra awake long past four. She thought she might be able to meditate it away. When that didn't work, she tried to wish it away. She swore she would never ride a dirt bike again if her head would just stop hurting. She stared blankly at the ceiling for hours trying to numb the sharp pain in the muscles behind her eyes.

When the nurse came back at seven in the morning, Korra almost begged for medicine. Three pills and twenty minutes later, she finally felt like the knife in her skull had been pulled out. She fell asleep counting the beats of the dull throb in her temple.


	4. Chapter 4

The doctors had told Korra that she would have to do some physical therapy when she was released from the hospital. In order to strengthen her muscles without stressing her joints, she would be swimming every morning and every evening. Korra was fine with regimented exercise as she worked out every day, but having someone watch her and tell her what to do didn't feel empowering so much as belittling.

It was Korra's first day of physical therapy. She was alone in a giant pool. Stationed at the far end was a single lifeguard who was picking at his nails. He looked a bit like Mako: spiky dark hair, sharp hazel eyes, unperturbable grimace. He was telling Korra what stroke to swim down and back. Backstroke, free stroke. Free stroke, breaststroke. Breaststroke, butterfly.

On her third lap back, Korra felt her shoulders burning. She would ask to take a break after this one.

She got to the edge of the pool and looked up at the lifeguard. Mako's doppelgänger had gone off shift-and a woman who looked strikingly like Lani had taken his place.

"Try touching the bottom," the new lifeguard said.

Korra obeyed, hoping that this would be the end of her training for the day. The pool was only twelve feet deep; it wouldn't be too difficult for her to touch the bottom. She caught her breath and starting swimming down. She reached the bottom of the pool in just a few seconds.

"Now come back up." The lifeguard had Lani's voice, too. Korra wasn't sure how she could understand her so clearly with twelve feet of water between them.

Korra pushed off the pool floor and paddled her way up.

After almost ten seconds, she hadn't broken the surface yet.

"What's taking you so long?"

Lani's voice seemed to sound from right next to Korra's ear. Korra turned around in the water, trying to see if she was there.

"That was incredibly reckless of you, Korra."

Korra stopped trying to get back to the surface, instead desperately diving deeper for the source of the voice.

"How am I supposed to be with someone who's willing to throw herself off a cliff for a thrill?"

As Korra swam back towards the bottom, the water around her started getting darker.

"Call me when you grow up."

Korra was swimming through ink. She remembered that she had to get back to the surface. How long had she been under?

Too long. She realized that the water hadn't gotten darker-she had blacked out. She couldn't move. Her body floated to the surface.

Someone's hands were on her, pulling her out of the pool. Through her blurry vision, she saw dark hair. Mako? No, Mako's hair wasn't so long. Her eyes closed.

"Korra!" A woman's voice called to her.

The hands were just below her sternum. The sharp pressure they administered jolted her awake.

And she was in the hospital bed. It had been a nightmare. She might as well have just gotten out of a pool; her sheets were soaked with sweat. She took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling.

"Alright, Korra gets out in three days, which means we have to start planning this party yesterday." Bolin paced about Asami's living room as he spoke. He started delegating tasks. By the time he got to listing entertainment options, Asami mind had wandered elsewhere.

She had volunteered to host the party at her mansion, which was also Future Industries' headquarters. Just a week ago she had been alarmed by a misdialed call to her private number, and now she was opening her home to a hundred of Korra's closest friends. None of the company's records would be at risk. Asami had only shown Bolin and Mako the first floor of the house, and their stunned silence implied that a single floor would be more than enough space.

Bolin had enlisted the help of his girlfriend, Opal, and his brother, Mako.

"Bo, we don't have time to hire acrobats," Mako said. Asami was amused by the contrast between his stoic realism and his brother's assertive optimism.

"Not with that attitude." Bolin pointed a finger at Mako.

Opal raised her hand.

Bolin swung his arm about so that he was pointing at his girlfriend. "Opal!"

"What kind of sheet cake should I get?"

"Chocolate," Mako said. "With that whipped frosting."

"Excuse me, who's in charge of this meeting?" Bolin said, putting his hands on his hips.

Mako rolled his eyes. "You are."

"Right," Bolin said. He looked back to Opal. "Chocolate. With that whipped frosting."

Opal nodded and jotted a note down on a pad of paper. "I've got to get to an interview," she said, standing. She kissed Bolin on the cheek. "I'll see you later, okay?"

Bolin smiled goofily as he watched her leave.

"Bolin, I don't think we should get a full swing band," Asami said. "We should try and keep the volume down."

"What's a party without music?!" Bolin said indignantly.

"Better for Korra's head," Mako said, glancing at Asami.

"Fine," Bolin conceded. "No loud music."

They spent another half an hour planning various details of the party. Asami had volunteered to throw together an e-vite which she would then forward to the long list of party guests that Bolin had assembled. Why each individual member of Opal's rather large family needed to receive a separate invitation was beyond Asami, but Bolin had insisted on it. She sat typing each individual email into the site's distribution page.

Asami had also been tasked with music management. Mako was worried that Bolin wouldn't choose something thematically appropriate to a welcome home party. He had ultimately told Asami that he trusted her to come up with something classy and tasteful.

What surprised Asami most about putting together the gathering was how normal it felt. Korra was coming home from the hospital, so a group of her friends was throwing a party. Asami was touched to be included in that group of friends. Even before she had offered to use her house as the location, the brothers had put her on the guest list. Asami was rather thrilled by the whole shenanigan, and on top of everything she would get to see Korra again soon.


	5. Chapter 5

The Sato mansion doorbell rang three times before Asami answered it:

 _Ding, ding, ding!_

The ascending tones arpeggiated a major triad as Asami placed the last dish on the buffet-style table. She ran out of the enormous living room through the foyer.

 _Ding, ding, ding!_

She power walked past the front door into the kitchen, then grabbed the cake out of the refrigerator and headed back to the living room.

 _DING, DING, DING!_

She left the cake on the buffet table as the insistent doorbell taunted her one last time. She opened the door just as the last ding faded into the empty foyer. Bolin and Opal stood at the door smiling, holding two wrapped boxes.

"You didn't have to keep ringing it," Opal reprimanded a sheepish Bolin before turning to Asami with a smile. "We thought we'd come by early to see if you needed any last minute help. Where should we put our get well presents for Korra?"

"On the stairs is fine," Asami said, pointing to the grand staircase on the left side of the foyer. Opal half-dropped the comically large box on the staircase landing.

Bolin held out the smaller of the two boxes to Asami. It fit in the palm of his hand.

"From me and Mako," he explained, "to thank you for everything."

"That's sweet," Asami smiled. She gently set the tiny box atop their larger gift for Korra.

"Bolin, come see the cake!" Opal called from the living room. She had been running errands for the party all day, and had left the cake at Asami's that afternoon.

Asami went back to the kitchen to make sure any last minute preparations were taken care of. She expected guests to start arriving around 7:10 at the earliest. She found herself worrying if the directions to the house were clear enough. The huge mansion was surprisingly difficult to get to. In grade school, Asami's father had always set up playdates for his daughter at her classmates' houses. Whether that had been out of consideration for her classmates's parents or part of Future Industries' security measures Asami was uncertain. Even as a child she had been made aware of corporate spying and her father's need to be discreet about his job.

And she was holding a dinner party at his mansion for someone she hardly knew.

A crash from the living room followed by a yelping sound pulled Asami out of her head. She swiftly exited the kitchen to find Opal cleaning up a broken candle. Fortunately, nothing had been set on fire except Bolin's shoe, and he had managed to put it out without singing anything other than his hand.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed, sucking on his burned fingers.

"Run your hand under warm water," Opal suggested, picking up a few large pieces of glass.

He bolted from the room.

"Could be worse, right?" Opal laughed nervously.

"It's fine. Really," Asami said, bending down to assist her. "As long as he can still grill, we'll be fine."

Korra, finally released from the hospital, sat in the passenger seat of Mako's car. The peeling red paint on the outside of the car matched the decomposing dashboard, but Korra loved the car nonetheless. She and Mako had gone on several drive-in movie dates, and those memories still made Korra nostalgic despite the overall rocky road that their romantic relationship had taken.

She was glad he had offered to pick her up. They were headed to Asami's house-a spectacular sight, according to her chauffeur-but she had been instructed to act surprised upon their arrival. Korra laughed out loud when he ran through the planning crew's list of potential cover stories that they had invented while brainstorming under Bolin's alleged lead. Mako had decided to simply tell her in advance: "I was afraid you'd have an aneurism or something. I don't know."

Korra usually liked surprises, but she was thankful for his consideration that night. She spent most of the car ride bracing herself for loud music and too much chatter, and once they pulled up to the house, she felt ready to tackle the social situation that had been organized in her honor.

"I can't believe Asami did all this," Korra said to Mako while they waited at the door.

"Remember, act surprised," he grunted.

Opal greeted them at the door and enthusiastically escorted them both inside. Korra noticed a stack of wrapped boxes on the staircase. Part of her wished they were for her, but she also hoped that her friends hadn't gone to so much trouble.

The second thing that Korra noticed about the party was the generally calm atmosphere. The music was serene, but not meditative or lulling. She wondered who had picked it out, and made a note to compliment their taste if she found out. No one was talking loudly or laughing obnoxiously, but people seemed to be having a good time. It was a classy cocktail party if Korra had ever seen one (she hadn't, but she imagined this was what one might look like).

"Hey, Korra!" Bolin said, busting out of the tranquil tableau.

"Hi, Bolin," Korra said, hugging him.

"Whoa, you look really tired," he said. Korra sensed the concern in his voice, but his lack of tact earned him a reprimand from Opal.

Korra looked on as Bolin's girlfriend encouraged him to be a little gentler when greeting concussed guests. He made a pouting puppy face and Opal handed him a piece of cake. He thanked her with a gleeful smile and a peck on the cheek, and suddenly Korra felt her heart sink. She ignored it and entered the party fray.

After half an hour of answering questions about her health, Korra grabbed a piece of cake and snuck into the kitchen. She noticed a sliding door that led onto a little deck and went outside. She wondered why such a grandiose mansion would have a small, hidden corner, but she was glad to have found it nonetheless. She sat on the deck's edge, her legs dangling a foot off the ground.

She poked her fork into the cake's frosting. _Good call on the whipped. Way better than buttercream._

The sliding door behind her slid open. Korra glanced over her shoulder to see Asami sashaying towards her in a scarlet dress. She looked down at her own blue drop-shoulder shirt and jeans and felt her stomach flip.

"Don't get up," Asami said, approaching rather slowly.

"Wanna sit with me for a minute?" Korra said, her words emerging sluggishly. "I'm not ready to get back to the party just yet. Plus, I think I'm underdressed."

Asami stayed standing, her hands clasped in front of her chest. Korra tried not to pay attention to any part of her host that was uncovered. She was supposed to avoid anything that might cause a sudden increase in her heart rate. She stared down at her cake until a flash of red appeared in her peripheral vision.

"Is everything okay?" Asami asked, sitting down close to Korra's side.

"It's...amazing, honestly. The music is nice," Korra replied. "I just don't get why you did all this. Not that I don't appreciate it, but you barely know me."

Asami was quiet. Korra looked up from her cake and saw that Asami was looking out over the mansion's side garden, thinking.

"I was wondering that myself," Asami said, almost to herself. If she hadn't seated herself inches from Korra, her words might have gotten lost amidst the open moonflowers.

A silence fell over them. Korra was wholly aware of her surroundings: the buzzing of nearby bugs, the wind lazily drifting, but the only sound that she really noticed was Asami's voice. It reminded her of-

"That phone call," Asami said. "I think...you sounded so sad."

"Yeah," Korra replied without thinking. She could have come up with something more articulate, but Asami continued.

"I guess I know what that's like. Being alone."

All Korra could see was the red dress, dark hair, and green eyes. The colors filled her vision, her entire brain.

"You mentioned a name at the hospital. Lani. Is that who you were trying to call?"

Korra nodded, blinking slowly at the mention of the name. She felt Asami's hand cover her own.

"Sorry you never reached her."

Korra looked up from her lap and summoned a smile. "Then I wouldn't have gotten this cool party."

Asami laughed. She covered her mouth with her hand, and for whatever reason Korra found the gesture adorably endearing.

Korra felt her smile break into a lopsided grin. Her expressions were prone to goofiness, she knew, but she couldn't help herself. Just being around Asami made her feel like giggling. Korra never giggled, but she had joined in Asami's laughter until they were both trying to keep from falling over.

Korra's piece of cake almost escaped her grasp, but Asami managed to grab it before it tumbled over the deck's shallow ledge.

"Let's get back to the party," Korra suggested, feeling newly energized from both cake and present company.


	6. Chapter 6

Sometime between Asami's talk with Korra in the kitchen and their return to the party, Bolin and his strange but charismatic boss Varrick had spiked any and every drinkable substance at the party, including the wine Asami had generously offered to bring up from the basement cellar.

According to Varrick, "It's great in theory, but the truth of the thing is wine is weak. When you've got a job to do, you bring in the hard-hitters! The dealmakers! Bolin, that's why I hired you. You know how to get a job done..."

He rambled on until his secretary Zhu Li tactfully alerted him that he would miss seeing Saturn through his telescope if they didn't leave immediately. Bolin accompanied them out to the foyer. The last of the guests followed them out the front door.

"Opal, I have to help Varrick see Saturn! I'm his right hand telescope man!" He insisted.

"Yeah!" Varrick jumped in. "Well, more like my left hand. Zhu Li's like three right hands. Idea: three-handed gloves. Zhu Li, write this down."

"Have you ever been painfully sober?" Opal asked to no one in particular.

"It's cuz the baby!" Bolin tried to whisper, but he was borderline yelling. "Shhh!"

"Holy shit," Mako turned on his brother. The more he drank, the more he cursed. "You better name it Mako."

Bolin immediately started crying, pulling his brother into a hug. "I love you so much, bro. Just so much."

"Korra, could you bring Mako's car around sometime tomorrow?" Opal asked. "I'm gonna get these two home."

Korra nodded. "Of course. And congratulations."

"Thanks. Alright boys, let's go."

"I love you, Korra," Bolin blubbered as the door closed behind them.

"I'll look for any stragglers," Asami said.

"I can start cleaning up," Korra offered.

"You don't have to do that," Asami replied, touched.

Korra had already started walking. "See you in the kitchen!" She called.

Korra was certainly stubborn. Asami pitied the nurse who drew the short straw to tell Korra that she had to stay in the hospital to recover. For a brief moment Asami worried that Korra might have slipped out of intensive care without the doctors' permission. However, she figured that Mako would have made sure proper checkout procedures were observed, and Korra didn't really seem the type to prioritize a party over getting better.

After checking the living room, backyard, and the wine cellar-Asami had walked in on two of her father's former employees there after a Christmas party once-she determined the house was void of lingering guests.

Asami shook her head and glanced at the pile of presents at the bottom of the staircase. Almost a hundred people had RSVP's that they'd be attending. From the size of the pile, they had all shown up and brought a friend. The little box that Bolin had given her caught her eye.

Korra thought that Asami would have some servants living in the giant mansion with her. No way that prissy, beautiful, elegant, rich girl took care of this whole place on her own while running a company. There were more dirty dishes and serving trays piled up than any one person should have to see in their lifetime. But despite her usual dislike for chores, Korra found herself almost enjoying washing plates. There was something wonderfully peaceful about being in the otherwise empty mansion. The quiet bounced off the walls and filled the room like water in a balloon. Plus, she had barely gotten to talk to Asami all night with all the guests wanting to know about her injury.

"Thanks for helping out," Asami said, entering the kitchen. "It usually takes me forever to clean up after these things."

Korra was suddenly nervous. _What do brilliant, pretty CEOs of tech companies who manage their own homes talk about at midnight?_ "It's no problem. It makes me feel useful."

Asami picked up a plate from the drying rack and wiped at it with a towel. "A guy was supposed to come fix the dishwasher last week, but I guess they accidentally double booked the appointment."

"You could ask Mako to fix it. He's pretty good with his hands," Korra offered, her eyes widening when she realized how that sentence might have sounded. "Like, handy. He's good with machines." In the spirit of full disclosure, she added, "I-we dated for a while."

Asami glanced up, but her expression didn't betray any reaction to the news. "I'd fix it myself if I wasn't so busy. You pick up a few things growing up inside a company like Future Industries."

Korra felt her face flush. _Of course Asami knows how to fix a dishwasher. Her dad probably invented dishwashers._ Korra felt Asami freeze next to her and looked up to see her host's brow furrowed.

"You...really dated Mako?" Asami asked.

"Yeah. We were in school together, and he was the cool guy with a car." Korra laughed. "High school was weird."

"Tell me about it. I was homeschooled," Asami added, joining in Korra's laughter.

Soon they were both doubled over, giggling and cackling. Korra tried to grab the counter for support, but sent a plate tumbling into the sink. It landed with a clang, and they were abruptly quiet. Silence expanded to fill the room until Korra looked up at Asami and spoke again.

"I'm really glad you woke me up in the middle of the night."

Asami perfectly rouged lips widened into a smile. She glanced at the clock on the wall above the sink. "Hey, it's pretty late. Do you want to stay over?"

Korra was pleasantly surprised by the invitation. "Uh, sure. If you don't mind."

"It's probably better if you don't go driving around at night while you're still recovering," Asami added. She pushed a stack of dry plates to the back of the counter. "These can wait 'til tomorrow. Let's get you some pajamas."


	7. Chapter 7

Korra couldn't fall asleep. For the first time since the accident, it wasn't because her head hurt. The king-sized bed was beyond luxurious, and Korra was determined to stay awake and actively enjoy lying on the plush pillows and soft sheets for as long as she could. Plus, she hadn't quite gotten used to sleeping alone since her breakup.

Asami's bedroom was huge, though less ornate than Korra had expected. The walls were bare save for a single picture on the wall opposite the bed. The still depicted some white flowers blossoming out of the top of a sleek black vase.

"My mom painted them," Asami said, walking into the room and sitting on the far edge of the bed. She had changed into a purple silk pajama set.

"That's a painting? I thought it was a photograph. It looks so real," Korra said.

"She did photography too. I've got a few of her photos in a box somewhere. She was an incredible artist." She stared into the air when she spoke about her mother.

"...What happened?" Korra asked.

"She died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Asami smiled at her. "Thanks. I'm glad I have some things to remember her by."

Korra smiled back wistfully. She noticed that Asami held a small box in her hand. "What's that?"

"Bolin said it was to thank me for hosting the party."

"Again, it was really awesome of you to do that. Open it!" Korra sat up excitedly.

Asami flipped the lid of the box back to reveal a little note tucked inside. She read it aloud. "Miss Sato, it was an honor to make your acquaintance. Your generosity in our dear friend's time of great need will not soon be forgotten. P.S. Your house is huge. Bolin."

"I think there's something on the back."

Asami turned the paper over and read again. "Don't hurt her. Mako." Asami's brow furrowed. A moment later, her eyes widened in surprise.

Korra felt blood rush to her face. She grabbed the comforter in tight fists and cleared her throat. "Um, anyway..."

"It's gorgeous," Asami cut in, holding up a fine gold chain with a little crown-shaped pendant. "Help me put it on?"

"Uhh, sure," Korra stuttered, scooting across the bed to kneel behind her. Asami handed her the necklace and pulled her long, dark hair up off her shoulders. Korra fumbled with the tiny lock, distracted by the fruity smell of shampoo. "Sorry. The clasp is-got it." She reached over Asami's head and fastened the chain around her neck.

Asami turned so that Korra could admire the jewelry, the pendant resting just below her collarbone. She smiled, rolling the little crown with her fingertips.

"It's beautiful. Bolin has good taste," Korra offered.

Asami nodded. "I'm gonna head to bed. If you need anything, just ring." She pointed to a bell on the bedside table.

 _I can handle myself. It's not like she's some handmaiden_ , Korra started, but she caught herself. _She's worried. That's all._ As gently as possible, she replied. "Thanks, but I feel bad taking your bed _and_ having you take care of me."

"It's no problem. Really."

Korra had an idea. "If you sleep here, I won't have to ring the bell." She had promised herself that she would stay cool and avoid coming on too strong. _So much for that_. Now she had embarrassed herself. "And you shouldn't sleep on the couch in your own house. I can move," she backtracked quickly, throwing the covers off and starting to get up.

Asami caught her by the shoulder. "You don't have to move. The bed's more than big enough."

Korra broke into a wide grin. Asami turned out the lamp light and pulled the covers over herself. Korra snuggled down into the warm blanket, happy to have company and giddy because of who it was.

It wasn't unusual for Asami to wake up a few times over the course of a night. Her mind was always racing, so she kept a journal in her bedside drawer just in case she dreamt up an idea she thought might be worth a second look in the morning. Many of them turned out to be ridiculous or impractical, like pocket-sized toaster ovens or a robot whose primary function was to unwrap chocolate bars and open bags of chips. When her ideas weren't inspired by cravings for midnight snacks, they were sometimes useful starting points for projects.

On that first night that Korra stayed over, however, Asami awoke with a pressing sense that something was wrong. She tried to convince herself that she was fretting too much over someone she had only recently met, but she couldn't shake the ominous feeling. She didn't want to wake her guest, so she tried taking a walk to calm herself down. After three laps up and down the long hallway outside her room, she determined that waking Korra briefly was worth putting her own worries to rest and getting some sleep.

Asami tried to walk to bed quietly, but her first step back onto the old wooden floorboard elucidated a loud _creeeeak_. She froze and looked at the bed for any sign of having disturbed Korra, then continued across the room.

She sat down on the bed slowly and drew the blanket over her body. She reclined onto what she guessed was Korra's hand and snapped back up into a seated position, reflexively apologizing.

"Sorry!"

No answer.

Korra didn't move. Asami tentatively reached for Korra's hand and found it surprisingly cold to the touch. Alarm bells rang in her head. She tried to shake Korra's shoulder, slightly at first, then more aggressively when she didn't respond.

"Korra? Korra, wake up. Korra!"


	8. Chapter 8

Asami sat in the waiting room at the ER. All she remembered of the previous half hour was blue lights and red panic. The medics had rushed Korra out of the house and into the ambulance, and now she was in a sterile white room somewhere in the hospital. They had taken her away without a word, and Asami had been left behind with a room full of plastic chairs for company.

At 4:13 a.m., Mako and Bolin arrived. In the few hours since the party, Mako had sobered up and enough to drive. Bolin walked into the waiting room dizzily, and Asami got up to help him into a chair.

"Oh man," he groaned, clutching the left side of his head. "Does anybody have water? Maybe a saltine?"

"Have you heard anything?" Mako asked Asami, rushing in behind his brother.

She shook her head.

Mako put a hand on her shoulder. "She's gonna be fine."

Asami wanted to believe him, but his clammy palm gave away his own uncertainty. She tried to smile and sat back down.

A nurse power walked into the room and Asami stood again abruptly.

"Ma'am, we just need you to fill out some routine forms," the nurse said, handing her a clipboard.

"Is Korra okay?" Asami asked, almost cutting the nurse off.

"I need to get back inside," the nurse answered, shoving the paperwork into Asami's hands and pivoting away robotically.

Asami stared at the form. She filled in the two answers that she knew-food allergies and recent hospitalizations. "Mako, can you help me with the rest of these?"

Bolin looked up at her, dropping his hands from his temples. "Hey, what was Korra doing with you anyway?"

"Don't think too hard, bro. You'll give yourself a worse headache," Mako said. He sat down in a chair opposite Bolin, leaned back, and held out a hand.

Asami gave him the clipboard and sat down next to him. She felt Bolin's gaze on her.

He watched her suspiciously. Then, as a realization dawned on him, his eyes widened. "Wait...was she-"

"Blood type is O positive..." Mako muttered.

"-Were you guys-"

"...Two previous hospitalizations..."

"-I can't believe you!" Bolin exclaimed, standing suddenly.

Mako stopped writing. Asami tried to shrink away from the accusatory finger that had been leveled at her.

A moment later, Bolin snatched the clipboard away from his brother and scanned over the paper. He turned the clipboard to face Asami. "You don't even know her last name!" He yelled, pointing out the difference between Asami's flowing cursive and Mako's just as illegible scratches on the page.

"Bolin-" Mako started.

"She's a rebound! We should never have had that party!"

"Maybe, but-"

"It's her fault Korra's back in here!"

The waiting room fell silent.

Faint, fast footsteps approached them from down the hall.

A doctor entered the room. "First the good news," she began. "Your friend is going to be alright."

The three visitors exhaled a shared breath.

The doctor continued. "The bad news is we'll have to watch her overnight, just to make sure there are no other complications. We lost her for about a minute there, but she pulled through. She's tough."

"She sure is," Mako agreed. "Can we see her?"

Korra's eyes fluttered open. Her head throbbed dully. She felt the presence of an IV drip in the back of her left hand. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep under different bedsheets than the starchy eggshell-white ones she was lying on.

The door to her room opened and unwelcome bright light flooded in from the hallway. Korra squeezed her eyes shut.

"Korra, your friends are here," the doctor said in a gentle voice. "Try to keep it short. We want to make sure she gets the rest she needs."

The doctor left the four of them alone and Bolin promptly rushed to hug his infirm friend.

Korra recoiled from the impact of his bear hug. "Careful," she laughed.

"Sorry," he said, pulling back. "We were sooo worried about you."

"How do you feel?" Mako asked, standing behind his brother.

"Hazy," Korra replied. "Cold."

Mako pulled off his jacket and tried to hand it to her, but she shook her head.

"I can ask the nurse for another blanket. Keep your coat. Thanks, though."

"Any time," he said. "Asami's here, too."

Korra looked away from the brothers at her right and noticed a third person by the door clad in purple silk pajamas.

"She got you here in time," Bolin said, picking up Korra's right hand and gripping it tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay!" He blubbered.

"Don't you have something to say to Asami?" Mako said to his brother pointedly.

Asami jumped in for the first time. "It's okay. It's been a stressful night for everyone."

A loud beeping sound filled the room.

Mako reached for his pager. "Opal needs us back," he said. "She said the pickles are on too high a shelf and she needs them for an ice cream sundae now." He turned to Korra. "We'll come see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Hopefully I'll be out of here before then," Korra said, smiling at him as the two of them left, Bolin letting out an intense yawn and Mako fishing the car keys out of his pocket. The door closed quietly behind them.

Asami approached the bed but stayed standing next to Korra.

"You can sit. I'm not contagious," Korra said.

"Are you feeling alright?" Asami asked, placing a hand on Korra's forehead. "Oh my goodness, you're burning up!"

"I'm fine," Korra insisted, swatting Asami's hand away. "It's just the medicine. They think it was a seizure or something, and they want to keep me overnight for observation." She paused, hesitating. "Would you...maybe stay with me?"

Asami answered her with a worried smile. "Of course."

Korra slept through most of the night, waking up every once in a while and to see Asami curled up in the armchair in the corner of the room. She was discharged the next day with strict orders to go home and stay in bed for a few days. She mostly listened-Asami had offered to let Korra stay with her again. That way she wouldn't have to fend for herself, and there was no way Korra would have passed up a chance to sleep in that giant bed.

After a week of taking it easy at the Sato mansion, Korra woke up and felt well enough to get up and move around. _How do you thank someone for being this...'kind' doesn't cover it._ After deliberating for a few minutes, she decided that breakfast in bed would be a good way to start expressing her gratitude.

Asami panicked for a moment when she woke up and saw empty sheets next to her. Then her rational brain woke up and she realized it was probably a good thing that Korra was up and about. She decided to go back to sleep until she was interrupted. There was a loud clang followed a few seconds later by footsteps coming up the stairs.

She opened her eyes to see Korra in the doorway holding a tray and blushing rather furiously.

"I..um...I made you breakfast."

"I can see that," Asami laughed, sitting up. "Are you gonna eat with me?"

Asami's heart swelled as she watched a lopsided grin break out across Korra's face. She placed the breakfast tray in the middle of the bed and sat down cross-legged on top of the tangled sheets.

Korra studied the toast, eggs, and fruit on the tray, avoiding looking up as long as she could. She knew Asami was looking at her and felt her face flush again. _Toast or fruit first? She's still watching. Maybe toast. Will she care that I forgot butter?_

After what felt like hours of tense silence, Korra finally met Asami's eyes. Her loose hair tumbled over her left shoulder, her head cocked to that side. Korra was transfixed by the little smile on her lips.

Asami leaned across the breakfast tray and kissed her. She felt Korra's smile against her lips and couldn't help but do the same.


End file.
